The Columbus Water Works is responding to a potential cyberattack amid a nationwide threat targeting water systems. President and CEO Jeremy Cummings tells NowGeorgia.com “the water is safe and the infrastructure is safe” in Columbus after the company was alerted by CISA or the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that something was amiss.
Cummings said the Columbus Water Works is currently operating in emergency preparedness mode and from automatic to manual mode. He said the company would rather “over respond” to the threat. The local investigation into the cyberattack is being handled by Chance Corbett, the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director of Columbus.
Other statewide media news outlets report the Clayton County Water Authority in Georgia was also targeted by cybercriminals last week. The FBI issued a nationwide alert warning that malicious cyber actors are targeting operational technology devices used by water and wastewater utilities. Multiple national media outlets are reporting that 12 states have now been targeted in cyberattacks on water systems.
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